May 30, 2012

8th season in pro
football (7th active), 6th in AFL, 4th (3rd
complete) with Bills

College: Occidental

Height: 6’1” Weight: 201

Prelude:

The road to pro football
success was a difficult one for Kemp, taken in the 17th round of the
1957 NFL draft by the Detroit Lions after playing collegiately at little OccidentalCollege. He saw scant action in the
preseason but, after Head Coach Buddy Parker resigned and then took over in Pittsburgh, he was traded
to the Steelers and threw a total of 18 passes during his rookie year. Waived a
game into the 1958 season, he caught on with the New York Giants and saw no
action as a member of the taxi squad. Failing to catch on with Calgary of the
CFL in ’59, he sat out the season and went back to college, but appeared to get
another chance at the NFL with the 49ers before being declared ineligible due
to his having signed earlier with the CFL. With the advent of the AFL in 1960,
Kemp finally got his chance with the Los Angeles Chargers and led the league in
passing while throwing for 3018 yards and 20 TDs (along with 25 interceptions)
and a league-leading 7.4 yards per attempt. The Chargers won the Western
Division and he was named All-AFL. The Chargers moved to San Diego for ’61 and repeated as division
champs while Kemp was selected to the AFL All-Star Game. A finger injury
suffered during the 1962 season caused him to be waived by the Chargers in an
attempt to save a roster spot, but he was claimed by several clubs and awarded
to the Buffalo Bills. Kemp was an AFL All-Star in 1963 and ’64 and the team
tied for the Eastern Division title in ’63, losing to the Patriots in the
resulting playoff, and then won the AFL Championship in 1964. Highly mobile and
quick to take off from the pocket, Kemp also had a strong arm, good leadership
skills, and was tough, playing through injuries throughout his career, although
also prone to throwing interceptions.

1965 Season Summary

Appeared in all 14 games

[Bracketed numbers indicate
league rank in Top 20]

Passing

Attempts – 391 [3]

Most attempts, game – 49 at Denver 9/19

Completions – 179 [2]

Most completions, game – 22 vs.
NY Jets 9/26, vs. Kansas City
12/12

Yards – 2368 [4]

Most yards, game – 295 vs. Kansas City 12/12

Completion percentage – 45.8
[5]

Yards per attempt – 6.1 [5]

TD passes – 10 [7]

Most TD passes, game – 3 vs.
Kansas City
12/12

Interceptions – 18 [4]

Most interceptions, game – 2
on 7 occasions

Passer rating – 54.8 [6]

200-yard passing games – 6

Rushing

Attempts – 36

Most attempts, game - 6 (for
5 yds.) vs. NY Jets 9/26

Yards – 49

Most yards, game – 20 yards
(on 4 carries) at Oakland
11/14

Yards per attempt – 1.4

TDs – 4 [9, tied with Matt Snell, Billy Joe & Pete Beathard]

Pass Receiving

Receptions – 1

Yards – -9

TDs - 0

Points

TDs – 4

Points – 24

Postseason: 1 G (AFL
Championship at San Diego)

Pass attempts – 19

Pass completions – 8

Passing yards – 155

TD passes – 1

Interceptions – 1

Awards & Honors:

AFL Player of the Year: AP

1st team All-AFL:
League, AP, UPI, NEA, NY Daily News

AFL All-Star Game

Bills went 10-3-1 to finish
first in the Eastern Division. Won AFL Championship over San Diego Chargers (23-0).

Aftermath:

The Bills won a third
straight Eastern Division title in 1966, and Kemp was again an AFL All-Star,
but the team lost to Kansas City
in the league title game. The club declined quickly thereafter, and Kemp missed
all of 1968 with a knee injury. He came back for one last year in ’69 before
retiring to go into politics. Overall, for his pro career he passed for 21,218
yards with 114 TDs and 183 interceptions, but while he tossed more
interceptions than touchdowns in every season of his career, the statistics
didn’t tell the whole story as he was also successful with a 65-37-3 record as
a starter, compiling two AFL championships, six AFL All-Star Game selections
and two All-AFL selections. He went on to a long second career as a
Congressman, cabinet member, and Vice Presidential nominee. His son Jeff became
a quarterback in the NFL.

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MVP Profiles feature players who were named MVP or Player of the Year in the NFL,
AAFC (1946-49), AFL (1960-69), WFL (1974), or USFL (1983-85) by a recognized
organization (Associated Press, Pro Football Writers Association, Newspaper
Enterprise Association, United Press International, The Sporting News, Maxwell
Club – Bert Bell Award, or the league itself).